Notes / Commercial Description:
Slick Nick Winter Ale is our most popular seasonal ale. The caramel and black malts we use to brew Slick Nick gives it the deep amber color. This insidious brew is best enjoyed during New England's freezing winter months. Slick Nick himself is pictured on our label casing out the Victoria Mansion in Portland Maine on a blustery night. Warm up with one of Maine's best winter offerings.

Caramel, slightly toasted malt up front. Plum and grape fruitiness fill up the palate. Tannic, bitter edge picks up mid-way through. Faint spice notes, but the herbal, woody bitterness is too strong for it. Dryer in the finish, thanks to the bitterness. Some lingering fruit malt sweetness. Not bad, but a little harsh on the bitterness. Medium bodied with a creamy feel.

More User Reviews:

This is a fairly agreeable beer that I enjoy every winter. Can't believe I've never reviewed it.
In a pint glass the beer is rust colored with an off-white head.
Caramel aroma, some spice.
More spice in the taste, cinnamon. Some caramel, and even a tiny hint of vanilla.
I think the beer is just a little too much on the sharp side; nevertheless, I do enjoy drinking it.

A-copper amber color. Clear with a weak white foam
S-warm spices reminiscent of the style. Cinnamon and nutmeg especially. Malty with a sweet cookie note
T-pretty much right on with the aroma
M-soft bodied and quick finish. A bit of a spicy noble hop like finish. Pleasing
O-a solid easy drinking WW

A: Pours brown with some red hues with a small off white head that has decent retention and leaves some nice lacing.

S: Dark fruits, some raisins and plum and a thick caramel malt aroma.

T: The dark fruit and caramel are here in a big way. There is a slightly bready malt flavor as well as some winter spices and a nuttiness.

M: Medium bodied with good carbonation. The finish is a little sticky.

O: Pretty good beer. Always thought it was a winter warmer, and seeing that it was retired as a warmer and is now in the strong ale category makes me wonder if there was a recipe change. Though, I haven't had this beer for 5 years or so, so there is no way I can remember. Either way, easy drinking and a nice beer to the winter time.

From a 12 fl. oz. sample bottled 11.24.09. Sample on December 20, 2009. It has a handsome amber-brown tone with virtually no head and limited lacing. The aroma is a tad hoppy with a bit of caramel malts. The mouthfeel is in the medium range. The taste is slightly sweet but bitter. Bittersweet? It was kind of nice but nothing out of the ordinary.

A: For an IPA, this beer straddles the middle ground between coppery amber and Cascadian IBA. Much closer to the amber but much darker than most. A small head came along with the ale, isolated patches of lace were the result.

S: The IPA is a syrupy sweet mix of caramel and citrus. Of the two, I'd give my nod to the caramel but that hoppiness lingers around. Toasted bread is prominent.

T: Nicely toasted, maybe even a little spicy. That toasted flavor is warming, leading into the spice profile. The nutmeg is strong, giving the ale an IPA-pumpkin taste. The hops appear mid-sip, mildly citric before the nutmeg takes over. An interesting pairing, one that I'm not sold on (my dislike of pumpkin ales is well-known). The fullness is nice, as is the toasted grain and spice interplay at the start of each sip.

M: The mouthfeel is big, malt-centric with that unusual spice profile. Not quite hoppy enough to be an IPA but spicy enough to be a warmer.

Part of the sebago collection I recieved from my good friend Matt up north. Decided to do the vertical/horizontal/ whatever it is of all of them. Poured into a pint glass,lol.

Nice color, rich dark brown, near black with a light head of tan that comes up and caps the top of the glass nicely. Aroma is dominated by aromas of oak and vanilla, which meld seemlessly into the chocolate notes that become ever more present as time goes on. First sip is wonderful, more carbonated then I typically see with barrel aged beers, with a nicely lively presence and rich, velvet like carbonation. First sip is loaded down with oak notes, hints of bourbon and vanilla start to come out as I dive further into it. Suble at first but then it starts to build. Nice backbone of chocolate coming through as well as a light touch of smoke

The beer is coppery or orange-amber in color, depending on the light. A light tan 3-finger head dissipated quickly leaving a bit of lacing. No carbonation buttles are apparent.

The smell is of toasted malts with lemony spice and other fruity aromas. The citrus is just on the overripe side.

Caramelly toasted malts make their presence known upfront, but are largely wiped out by a fast rising and long lasting bitterness accented by some light spiciness. The second glass exhibits some metallic flavor after a hard pour, but soon settles down.

The medium-bodied mouthfeel borders on medium-full. There's a bit of bite on the tongue, though I never saw a single carbonation bubble. Occasionally, there's also some warmth in the throat.

This is a decent beer. Not spectacular, but not disappointing either. I would have no complaints if I happened to encounter it again.